Editing Vehicle (section)

=== Converting energy to work ===
The mechanical energy that motors and engines produce must be converted to [[Work (physics)|work]] by wheels, propellers, nozzles, or similar means.
Aside from converting mechanical energy into motion, wheels allow a vehicle to roll along a surface and, with the exception of railed vehicles, to be steered.<ref name="steering">{{cite web| title = How Car Steering Works| work = [[HowStuffWorks]]| url = http://www.howstuffworks.com/steering.htm| access-date = 23 July 2011| date = 2001-05-31}}</ref> Wheels are ancient technology, with specimens being discovered from over 5000 years ago.<ref>{{cite web| title = World's Oldest Wheel Found in Slovenia| url = http://www.ukom.gov.si/en/media_relations/background_information/culture/worlds_oldest_wheel_found_in_slovenia/| date = March 2003| publisher = Government Communication Office of the Republic of Slovenia| author = Alexander Gasser| access-date = 23 July 2011| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120714033224/http://www.ukom.gov.si/en/media_relations/background_information/culture/worlds_oldest_wheel_found_in_slovenia/| archive-date = 14 July 2012| df = dmy-all}}</ref> Wheels are used in a plethora of vehicles, including motor vehicles, [[armoured personnel carrier]]s, amphibious vehicles, airplanes, trains, skateboards and wheelbarrows.

Nozzles are used in conjunction with almost all reaction engines.<ref name="nozzle">{{cite web| title = Nozzles| publisher = [[NASA]]| url = http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/nozzle.html| access-date = 22 July 2011| archive-date = 31 May 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120531093711/http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/nozzle.html| url-status = dead}}</ref> Vehicles using nozzles include jet aircraft, rockets, and [[personal watercraft]]. <!--While nozzles are not strictly necessary to produce thrust, they do increase thrust by a great deal.--> While most nozzles take the shape of a cone or [[de Laval nozzle|bell]],<ref name="nozzle"/> some unorthodox designs have been created such as the [[Aerospike engine|aerospike]]. Some nozzles are intangible, such as the electromagnetic field nozzle of a vectored ion thruster.<ref>{{cite web| title = LTI-20 Flight Dynamics| publisher = Lightcraft Technologies International| url = http://www.lightcrafttechnologies.com/rpi_www/technical/flight_dynamics.html| access-date = 22 July 2011| quote = The ion thrusters use electromagnetic fields to vector the engine exhaust| archive-date = 13 March 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120313031132/http://www.lightcrafttechnologies.com/rpi_www/technical/flight_dynamics.html| url-status = dead}}</ref>

[[Continuous track]] is sometimes used instead of wheels to power land vehicles. Continuous track has the advantages of a larger contact area, easy repairs on small damage, and high maneuverability.<ref>{{cite web| title = Week 04 – Continuous Track| publisher = Military Times| url = http://militarytimes.com/blogs/warrior-made/innovations/continuous-track/| access-date = 23 July 2011}}</ref> Examples of vehicles using continuous tracks are tanks, snowmobiles and excavators. Two continuous tracks used together allow for steering. The largest land vehicle in the world,<ref>{{cite web| title = The Biggest (and Hungriest) Machines| publisher = Dark Roasted Blend| url = http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2006/11/biggest-and-hungriest-machines.html| access-date = 23 July 2011}}</ref> the [[Bagger 293]], is propelled by continuous tracks.

Propellers (as well as screws, fans and rotors) are used to move through a fluid. Propellers have been used as toys since ancient times; however, it was [[Leonardo da Vinci]] who devised what was one of the earliest propeller driven vehicles, the "aerial-screw".<ref>{{cite web| title = Early Helicopter Technology| publisher = U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission| url = http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Rotary/early_helicopters/HE1.htm| access-date = 23 July 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110821031541/http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Rotary/early_helicopters/HE1.htm| archive-date = 21 August 2011| url-status = dead| df = dmy-all}}</ref> In 1661, Toogood & Hays adopted the screw for use as a ship propeller.<ref>{{cite web| title = Brief History of Screw Development| publisher = Rod Sampson – School of Marine Science and Technology, [[Newcastle University]]| page = 10| url = http://research.ncl.ac.uk/cavitation/archive/MAR2010%20-%20propeller%20history.pdf| access-date = 23 July 2011| date = 5 February 2008| archive-date = 7 November 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151107002835/http://research.ncl.ac.uk/cavitation/archive/MAR2010%20-%20propeller%20history.pdf| url-status = dead}}</ref> Since then, the propeller has been tested on many terrestrial vehicles, including the [[Schienenzeppelin]] train and numerous cars.<ref>{{cite web| title = Cars with Propellers: an Illustrated Overview| publisher = Dark Roasted Blend| url = http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/12/cars-with-propellers-essential.html| access-date = 23 July 2011}}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In modern times, propellers are most prevalent on watercraft and aircraft, as well as some amphibious vehicles such as hovercraft and [[ground-effect vehicle]]s. Intuitively, propellers cannot work in space as there is no working fluid; however, some sources have suggested that since [[vacuum state|space is never empty]], a propeller could be made to work in space.<ref>{{cite web| title = Vacuum Propellers| author = John Walker| publisher = Fourmilab Switzerland| url = http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/vprop/| access-date = 23 July 2011| author-link = John Walker (programmer)}}</ref>

Similarly to propeller vehicles, some vehicles use wings for propulsion. Sailboats and sailplanes are propelled by the forward component of lift generated by their sails/wings.<ref>{{cite web| title = How Sailboats Move in the Water| work = [[HowStuffWorks]]| url = http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/water-sports/sailboat3.htm| access-date = 2 August 2011| date = 2008-03-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title = Three Forces on a Glider| work = [[NASA]]| url = http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/glidfor.html| access-date = 2 August 2011| archive-date = 15 April 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210415211536/https://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/glidfor.html| url-status = dead}}</ref> [[Ornithopter]]s also produce thrust aerodynamically. Ornithopters with large rounded leading edges produce lift by leading-edge suction forces.<ref>{{cite web | title = How It Works | publisher = Project Ornithopter | url = http://www.ornithopter.net/how_it_works_e.html| access-date = 2 August 2011}}</ref> Research at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies<ref>{{cite web | title = University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies| url = https://www.utias.utoronto.ca/tag/ornitopter/ | access-date = 10 November 2022}}</ref> lead to a flight with an actual ornithopter on July 31, 2010.

Paddle wheels are used on some older watercraft and their reconstructions. These ships were known as [[paddle steamer]]s. Because paddle wheels simply push against the water, their design and construction is very simple. The oldest such ship in scheduled service is the [[Skibladner]].<ref>{{cite web| title = Skibladner: the world's oldest paddle steamer| work = [[Skibladner]]| url = http://www.skibladner.no/engelsk/index.htm| access-date = 2 August 2011| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110809043151/http://www.skibladner.no/engelsk/index.htm| archive-date = 9 August 2011| df = dmy-all}}</ref> Many [[pedalo]] boats also use paddle wheels for propulsion.

[[Screw-propelled vehicle]]s are propelled by [[auger (drill)|auger]]-like cylinders fitted with helical flanges. Because they can produce thrust on both land and water, they are commonly used on all-terrain vehicles. The [[ZiL#Models|ZiL-2906]] was a Soviet-designed screw-propelled vehicle designed to retrieve cosmonauts from the Siberian wilderness.<ref>{{cite web| title = Véhicules Insolites (Strange Vehicles)| language = fr| author = Jean Pierre Dardinier| publisher = Fédération Française des Groupes de Conservation de Véhicules Militaires| url = http://mvcgfrance.org/vzil.htm| access-date = 23 July 2011| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111202213122/http://mvcgfrance.org/vzil.htm| archive-date = 2 December 2011| df = dmy-all}}</ref>